Friday, January 29, 2010

I am so excited! The no-no's came off today, and we were cleared to give Miss Sunshine the sippy cup and go back to spoon feeding. Prior to surgery she wanted NOTHING to do with a sippy, mainly because she couldn't get anything out of it. I am happy to report that after about twenty minutes of battling this morning, she finally realized she can drink out of the sippy and downed about 8 ounces of milk in no time flat! YAY! This is so huge!

I'm going to keep this as a short and sweet update. I'll be on later with all our happenings!

Monday, January 25, 2010

Well, week one of recovery has come and gone. We are five days away from being free of arm restraints and syringe feeding... it has been insanely busy around here in that time.

Miss Sunshine has started walking as her primary mode of transportation. No more crawling for this chick. However, she refuses to walk in hard soled shoes. So now I am on the hunt for soft soled shoes as she is in between sizes in her Robeez - the 3-6 months sizes are too small. And the 6-12 month are GINORMOUS on her. I'm looking at Pedipeds to see if perhaps they will work for the interim. My worry with those is that Miss Sunshine has the skinniest freaking feet on the face of the earth which is why I prefer the Robeez because they actually stay on her feet. I'm afraid the Pedipeds won't. I suppose we shall see...

We moved Miss Sunshine into her "Big Girl" carseat last week as well. She is still rear-facing and will until at least two (or 35 pounds, whichever comes first - my guess is 2!) if not longer - if she is still tolerating the rear-facing at two, I'll leave her until she no longer is or reaches the weight limit of the seat. But seeing as at last weight check she had barely broken 15 lbs, I don't think we'll be reaching the weight limit on that seat any time soon...

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Well, I had the best of intentions to update on Miss Sunshine's surgery while we were in Chicago. Unfortunately, the fates conspired against me and I had VERY limited Internet access while we were there.

Everything went WONDERFULLY. I can't say how many times the staff at Shriner's Hospitals for Children were SO wonderful to us. Really. I've never dealt with a more caring staff of medical professionals ever.

Miss Sunshine had the tube in her right ear replaced. I don't have all the details on that as of yet - the ENT had numerous cases that day and wasn't able to come speak with us, but I will be receiving copies of all the transcripts of her surgery so I should have more details on that shortly. The tube that was already in place was either blocked or had fallen out - we don't know.

The plastic surgeon said that her surgery went beautifully. Her cleft was very narrow, according to the surgeon, and they were able to do the repair without much tension, so they expect wonderful results. And, they only had to open up a portion of the roof of her mouth for the extra give, instead of doing a U all the way around like originally intended, so that was good news too! She has been eating like a champ - although now that we are home, she doesn't want much to do with her breast milk or formula. Yogurt and any baby foods watered down so they can go in the syringe, however, are a BIG hit. So while her breast milk consumption is down to around 15 or so oz a day, her other food intake has more than tripled - so I am not too concerned. She is at an age where her breast milk consumption should be dropping anyways, so I think this is more a normal result of no longer have the bottle than anything. She is doing very well with syringe feedings, which we have to continue, along with the arm restraints, for two weeks - then she can have a sippy cup, soft food, spoon feedings, etc. I am hoping to try nursing her once her first birthday gets her, which is February 3rd. My goal initially was to make it to one year with the pumping - so I figure, even though the 3rd is a bit past her two week deadline, I'll continue to pump to that date, then attempt the breastfeeding and if it is unsuccessful, will just be done with the pumping as well. If it is successful, then GREAT!

Anyways, just wanted to update everyone on how she is doing - I can hear her getting very angry at me in her crib, so I'd better go rescue her. I'll try to post a bit more detail, and some photos, this evening!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Well, we leave tomorrow morning to head to Chicago for Miss Sunshine's palate repair. Have I mentioned that I am terrified? In less than 48 hours, my baby girl will be going through surgery. I don't know that I am mentally prepared for this at all.

I've been running around like a crazy woman all day, trying to make sure I have everything we need. Toothbrush - check. Toothpaste - check. Deodorant - check. Shampoo - check. Underwear - check. Black clothes - check. Button up clothes for Miss Sunshine - check. Ready-made bottles of formula for the flight - check. Storage bags for breast milk - CRAP! I better find those! Ugh. I am so sure I am going to forget something, because don't you always, when you travel? Isn't this pretty much impossible to avoid? I just keep trying to tell myself not to panic, things will all be fine.

We check in at the hospital as soon as we arrive in Chicago, and I don't know if they have WiFi or not - but if they do, I'll try to get on and update. If not, I suppose you all will be hearing from me after surgery - I do know that our hotel has WiFi access, so at the latest, hopefully I will be able to get on Friday night.

Now I'm going to try to get some sleep, since Miss Sunshine kept me up all night last night.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Mommy Mac. And I have a problem. I'm a cloth diaper-aholic! ACK. I have GOT to stop buying cloth diapers! I just love them so much! I never ever in a million years thought I would love cloth diapering the way that I do. But I love it. It makes me happy to know that I am doing my part to save the environment. In theory, I should be saving money as well. In reality, I don't know that I am since I can't seem to stop buying cloth diapers. I now have a stash of 19 gDiapers, 6 BumGeniusAIO's, and 3 Goodmamafitteds. I am buying 2 Bummi's covers and 2 fleece shorties from a friend to go with the fitteds, I am going to buy a Goodmama ONE (another AIO)... That will be 29 diapers. I supposed I should buy one more to make it an even 30!

But every diaper has a purpose. The g's are my main diaper. I use them every day. They are AI2's, and I love that if Miss Sunshine just wets, I just pull out my cloth insert and put a dry one in and can reuse the diaper itself. I use the BGAIO's at nighttime, because they seem more absorbent to me. They are also our travel diaper - they are basically a cloth version of disposable diapers, on and off in a jiffy, no inserts to keep track of, just toss the dirty one into a wetbag and go. And the GM's are my new "around the house" diaper. They are SO soft and silky, and super absorbent. A fitted diaper does not have any leak coverage, so once it's good and wet, your baby is good and wet too, unless you put on a cover. Well, Miss Sunshine wore her first GM today, had it on for about two hours and did not wet through! I have been very pleased.

So, in an effort to increase the size of the stash that I probably don't need to do - I bring you another one of my favorite things - GIVEAWAYS! It's a GM giveaway - one fitted and one ONE. You can't pass this up - if you are interested in trying out cloth diapering, or already do it, you should go sign up - I know I am! Check it out here:Fluff Friday Giveaways at The Cloth Diaper Whisperer!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Well, we are here. One week away from our trip to Chicago for Little Miss Sunshine's palate repair. For a day or so, there, we thought we might not even be going, since she decided to spring an Ear Infection on us. But after talking to the doctors, we have been given the go ahead... barring any last minute crop-ups of illness. We are knocking hard-core on wood, hoping to keep all the yuckies away. I have spent so long preparing myself for this, I really don't think I could handle it if we had to postpone for some reason.

The weather has turned FRIGID here in the Midwest. Like, single digit highs, double digit below zero wind chills, FRIGID. And no snow to show for it either - what's up with that? We hopefully have everything that we need so that we won't have to venture out into the cold that is our town right now.

I am trying to keep my panic to a minimum right now, so sorry for not being too chatty... perhaps in a day or so, I will be more in a space to talk. I'm tired, cranky and just generally not myself today - not sure what is going on, if it's the lack of sleep (Thank you, snoring husband) or just stress in general. I've been snapping at Daddy Mac and the kiddos left and right - and it isn't going well, let me assure you. Hopefully things will get better after the unknown of her surgery is over and dealt with... for now, I'm just going to run to the store to grab the last few items we need to make it through until next week (help, laundry detergent!) and maybe take a nice hot bath to relax...

About this blog

About Me

Hi, I'm Mommy Mac. I'm a part-time-working, full-time-studenting, mostly stay-at-home mom. I have one amazingly supportive, loving, wonderful husband, and I have two beautiful children: Monster Boy, my almost ten year old too-smart-for-his-own-good genius, and Little Miss Sunshine, my five year old diva/princess-in-training. Miss Sunshine was born with an isolated cleft of the soft palate, which was diagnosed at birth, and pretty much rocked our world. This blog is my place to get down to the heart - or, in our case, the cleft - of the matter...

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The Kiddos

Say hello to Monster Boy and Little Miss Sunshine! Of course, they are a lot bigger now - but really, this photo is just too cute not to use...

Monster Boy

Monster Boy is eight going on sixteen (at least in his eyes!). He's a bit of a know-it-all with a very Type A personality - which can sometimes make for interesting conversation, especially with two OTHER Type A personalities in the house. He is smart, out-going, loving, kind, and a joy in general - well, minus the attitude he's so good at copping. But we wouldn't have him any other way!

Miss Sunshine

Little Miss Sunshine is my FIVE year old terror. She has personality in spades these days, and doesn't slow down for a second! She is our joy, and we spend each day with her living life to the fullest. With all of the ups and downs that we have been through with the discovery of her cleft and subsequent treatment, we are looking forward to our next phase - life after palate repair.